Emergency planning for collections – scope

Use this procedure well before you are faced with a real emergency that might harm your collections or your information systems. The first thing to do is to list the risks you face, such as fire and flooding. Then plan to make these things less likely to happen, and less damaging if they do.

Once you have assessed the risks you can put together an emergency plan for your collections (which should be developed along with your wider planning for human safety in emergency situations). In the heat of the moment it can be hard to think straight, so have clear, written instructions ready to be grabbed by anyone who needs them. Use drills to test your emergency plan, so that everyone knows what to do even if key people are not around when trouble strikes (as they might not be).

This procedure might not stop a disaster, but it will help you react and recover. If the worst does happen, see also Damage and loss.